This last weekend a group of intrepid Div. 4 Hobie sailors took to the slopes at White Pass Ski Area for a weekend of frolicking and laughter. To describe it in one word would be “epic”. The fun, laughter, bonding, friendship, sport, and environment were all 10.5 on a 10 scale.
Kudos to Rich Arneson for organizing this event and hosting us at the slope-side chalet of the Olympia Ski Club. This A-frame was built by volunteer labor in 1955 and added a good dose of nostalgia and ambiance to our weekend.
Rich was ably assisted by Elizabeth Prout, who took over the weekend cooking responsibilities not just for our hungry mouths, but for the entire Olympia Ski Club. Between the ambiance of the lodge, Elizabeth’s cooking, and the hospitality and congeniality of the club members, we were treated like royalty. And as an added bonus, not one Hobie person got kicked out of anywhere the entire weekend! lol
On the slopes it was giggles and grins across the board. We had 7 on Saturday and 11 on Sunday when Della showed up with JJ in the morning while Matt Markovich drove Josh up Sat. night. It was just too much fun on the chair going up and on the runs headed down.
Eventually groups broke up according to skiing preference and skill. Bob Combie and Kayley Jones were cutting fresh tracks on the runs through the 4″ that fell Friday night. Al Jones was shifting time between skiing with Kayley and the tree crowd. The tree crowd included our personal guide and host Rich “Gorilla” Arneson, Paul “Smooth” Carter, Tim “Drop” (aka “Teardrop”) Webb, and “Crazy” Peter Nelson. Teardrop hooked up with Smooth Saturday afternoon after selling his 2nd boat to Will Schwenger from Canada in the morning. (Expect to see Will slicing through the race course this summer!) Turns out JJ is a powder hound, and dove into the trees on Sunday every chance she got.
It was soooo much fun because everyone was an accomplished skier so you were always skiing with a friend. When it was time to head back to the lodge there was warmth, food, refreshment, friends, and games. Based on the success of this weekend, expect to see more skiing opportunities in the future.
Hobie Division 4 